Swansea International Festival is about to get underway with a packed programme offering over 30 diverse events in 16 days at venues around the city. Combining music, dance, ballet, comedy, drama, film, talks, visual art and family events there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Highlights during the opening weekend include Swansea legend Mal Pope launching the Festival at Volcano HQ in High Street on Friday 30th September with Later with Mal, a showcase of local talent. That’s followed by some ‘baroque and roll’ – including Vivaldi’s famous The Four Seasons – from La Serenissima at the Brangwyn Hall on 1st October.
You can sample day-time events at the Great Hall on Swansea University’s Bay Campus, including a recital by pianist Clare Hammond (recently seen playing the young Maggie Smith in the film The Lady in the Van) who will be performing with oboist James Turnbull at 11.30am on Sunday 9th October.
Among the events at the Brangwyn Hall, on 7th October, BBC National Orchestra of Wales are giving a Family Concert – perfect for anyone aged 7 and over – combining classical favourites with film-score hits like the Star Wars Main Theme. The orchestra return on 8th October for a concert to remember Aberfan, as 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the tragic event that took place there. The evening will include a new work, The Shortest Day, commissioned by the Festival, Friends of the Festival and BBC Radio 3 and written by talented young Welsh composer, Joseph Davies, with texts by past Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
If you feel like putting on your dancing shoes, come along to the Swing Night at the Brangwyn on 14th October when Michael Roach and the Buck Clayton Legacy Band will fill the Hall with the sound of jazz classics. The event is in support of Maggie’s Cancer Care.
Amongst the events at Taliesin Arts Centre, on 1st October there’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a magical show combining music, puppetry and storytelling for youngsters aged 3 – 7, and a fusion of Irish and American roots music from We Banjo 3 on 9th October.
Comedy is the order of the day at the Grand Theatre on 13th October with stand up from brilliant Welsh comedian Elis James and his Radio X partner John Robins. On Saturday 15th, you can enjoy Romeo and Juliet in Ballet Cymru’s acclaimed production which marks Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary year.
The Festival comes to a stirring close with one of Russia’s most prestigious orchestras, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, performing a programme of three works by Tchaikovsky himself at the Brangwyn Hall on 15th October.
You can also catch visual art exhibitions at the Mission Gallery, Taliesin Art Centre and Galerie Simpson and attend free lunchtime talks on topics ranging from jazz in Swansea to the relationship between arts, society and good health.
This is just a taster of what is on offer during the Swansea International Festival – for the full line-up of all the events and to book tickets online, please take a look at the website –www.swanseafestival .org
Check out the event page for a full list of events taking place!
This post is also available in: Welsh